CM Punk, John Cena, RRR Draft and Latest WWE News from Ring Rust Radio

Ring Rust Radio is the best wrestling show on the airwaves, and this week was no different. With strong opinions on CM Punk, John Cena, the RRR draft and more, this is where you need to get all of your weekly WWE nuggets.

Bleacher Report featured columnists Michael Cahill, Brandon Galvin, Mike Chiari and Donald Wood give the lowdown on all things going on in the wrestling world.

Ring Rust Radio held its first annual draft on Tuesday as each of the show's panelists took part in a 25-round snake draft with wrestlers from WWE, TNA and ROH eligible to be taken.

With another unpredictable episode of Ring Rust Radio in the books, you can't afford to miss another second of the action. Catch us LIVE every Tuesday at 7 p.m. ETor follow us on Twitter @RingRustRadio 

We may just read your questions and comments LIVE on the air. Visit our new website at RingRustRadio.com and you can also email us here: [e-mail].

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(Some language NSFW)

Upcoming Guests/Events

Aug. 7 - Extreme Rising star BLK Jeez

Aug. 14 - ROH star Adam Cole

Aug. 21 - Extreme Rising star Shane Douglas

Aug. 28 - ECW legend Tommy Dreamer

WWE Talk

The show wasn't all about the RRR draft this week as it opened with a little bit of talk regarding CM Punk and his supposed heel turn. Punk opened RAW by disputing what Jerry Lawler had said the previous week about Punk turning his back on the WWE Universe when he attacked The Rock.

Punk then watched the John Cena vs. Big Show No. 1 contender's match from ringside before interfering and setting up a triple threat for SummerSlam. 

Question on Everybody's Mind: Is Punk Really a Heel?

It seemed as though the creative team attempted to blur the lines between face and heel for Punk on Monday, but there is no question that he was far more sinister than he has been since turning face last summer.

He was extremely boastful, disrespectful to Lawler, condescending to Cena and incredulous when AJ Lee made the decision to have a triple-threat match at SummerSlam before the show closed.

Ring Rust Radio's Take

As much as the WWE is trying to delay the inevitable, Punk is clearly heel. It's possible that they could be trying to make him a tweener, but that rarely works in wrestling and rarely ever has.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin started as a tweener, but he quickly became a fan favorite, and the same would happen to Punk if the creative team tries to play the middle.

The best bet is to have Punk clearly turn heel on Cena at SummerSlam and that is likely what will happen.

A partnership between Punk and Big Show seems like a real possibility as well, so maybe Big Show will help Punk retain at SummerSlam rather than try to win the WWE Championship himself.

That could be the start of a dominant heel stable that will rule the WWE and combat Cena moving forward.

Bleacher Report Insider Scoop: Is Punk Face, Heel or Tweener?

RRR Draft

The next phase of the show featured the first Ring Rust Radio draft. The premise of the draft was for each of the panelists to put together a 25-man fantasy draft roster with WWE, TNA or ROH stars available to be selected.

Each panelist will be constructing a dream card with the wrestlers on their roster over the next week and you, the readers, will be able to determine who did best through the democratic process of voting.

A supplemental draft was held beforehand with each company getting one part-time performer. The eligible wrestlers in the supplemental draft were The Undertaker, The Rock, Triple H and Brock Lesnar. 

Michael Cahill picked first, followed by Brandon Galvin, Donald Wood and Mike Chiari respectively. Here is how everything played out.

Michael Cahill (RAW)

Roster

Brock Lesnar

John Cena

Chris Jericho

Randy Orton

Bully Ray

Mr. Anderson

Cody Rhodes

Rhyno

Damien Sandow

Ted DiBiase

Big Show

Mason Ryan

Alex Riley

Michael Elgin

Adam Cole

Mike Mondo

Matt Morgan

Tensai

Justin Gabriel

Santino Marella

Primo

David Otunga

Mike Bennett

Homicide

Garett Bischoff

Epico

Analysis

With Brock Lesnar already in tow, Cahill made the obvious pick by making John Cena the No. 1-overall selection. He picked up a couple more top WWE stars on the way back with Chris Jericho and Randy Orton as well. In terms of pure star power, Cahill may have the rest of the panelists beat.

The true question is whether he has enough in-ring prowess and whether he can put together a great wrestling card, though. Cahill followed up with a couple TNA talents in Bully Ray and Mr. Anderson, but things started to get away from him not long after.

Selections like Rhyno, Ted DiBiase, Mason Ryan and Alex Riley were generally believed to be much too early, so Cahill may not have a solid mid-card to go with his main-event talent.

Justin Gabriel and Santino Marella were astute late picks, but there is no question that Cahill will lean on Lesnar, Cena, Orton and Jericho to draw in the fans and readers.

Brandon Galvin (SmackDown)

Roster

Triple H

CM Punk

Sting

AJ Styles

Jeff Hardy

Rob Van Dam

Christian

Christopher Daniels

Kofi Kingston

R-Truth

Jay Brisco

Mark Briscoe

Dean Ambrose

Seth Rollins

D'Angelo Dinero

Devon

Roderick Strong

Sami Callahan

Fit Finlay

Tyler Reks

Tommaso Ciampa

Jey Uso

Jimmy Uso

Kid Kash

Curt Hawkins

Gunner

Analysis

It is clear that Brandon Galvin wanted to go with veteran talent on his roster, and he did precisely that. Triple H was joined by WWE Champion CM Punk, Sting, A.J. Styles, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and Christian early. Like Cahill, Galvin did a nice job in the first few rounds, but depth could be an issue.

TNA fans are likely to be drawn to this roster as many of the company's top stars were selected. Galvin did mix a little bit of everything as things progressed, however, so there is no denying that his federation would have fairly wide appeal.

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth went a little too early for my liking, but Galvin was successful in terms of not really throwing away many picks. Fit Finlay was an astute pick in the closing rounds and may be a guy who can find a good spot on his card.

Galvin has an interesting combination of stars, but if TNA can't get over with the fans with what they have, will this roster be able to, either? It all rides on what type of event Galvin can potentially put together and that figures to be revealed next week.

Donald Wood (ROH)

Roster

The Rock

Kurt Angle

Daniel Bryan

Sheamus

Rey Mysterio

Bobby Roode

James Storm

Kane

Mark Henry

Ryback

Zack Ryder

Kevin Steen

Jay Lethal

Crimson

Abyss

Brodus Clay

Jack Swagger

Eddie Edwards

Michael McGillicutty

Hunico

Hernandez

El Generico

Titus O'Neil

Eric Young

Darren Young

Camacho

Analysis

As was the case with everyone, things started off well enough for Donald Wood. The Rock is his cornerstone guy and Kurt Angle, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus should all be good supporting figures.

The Rey Mysterio seemed to be a bit too early, however, and rehashing a Bobby Roode vs. James Storm feud isn't particularly interesting.

The first six or seven picks are passable, but things got chaotic soon after as Mark Henry, Ryback, Zack Ryder, Crimson, Brodus Clay and others were taken without much rhyme or reason.

It's possible that Wood has a plan of some kind, but I have a hard time understanding where that random conglomerate of wrestlers will fit in.

It's fair to say that the most interesting part of Wood's draft was his commitment to WWE and TNA guys. He is the most pro-ROH person on the panel by a long shot, but he only ended up with four ROH stars on his roster, and most of them were taken late.

Wood didn't really stick to his own philosophy, so it will be interesting to see what he does with the roster he constructed. I'm not particularly optimistic, but there is some good talent in place, so maybe things can be salvaged.

Mike Chiari (TNA)

Roster

The Undertaker

Dolph Ziggler

Austin Aries

Wade Barrett

The Miz

Samoa Joe

Davey Richards

Sin Cara

Alberto Del Rio

Kassius Ohno

Antonio Cesaro

Shelton Benjamin

Charlie Haas

Tyson Kidd

Evan Bourne

Chavo Guerrero

Kazarian

Zema Ion

Drew McIntyre

Magnus

Kenny King

Chris Sabin

The Great Khali

Robbie E

Robbie T

Jinder Mahal

Analysis

Naturally, this is my favorite roster of the four as I focused on wrestling above everything else, just as TNA claims to do. I was unfortunately saddled with a poor drafting position that made it difficult to get a mix of star power and in-ring awesomeness, but I made due with the cards I was dealt.

The Undertaker was a great start in the supplemental draft since he can have a great match with anyone, while the back-to-back picks of Dolph Ziggler and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries ensured that there would be a dynamite bout to headline the card.

After that, there was a clear focus on younger wrestlers with potential, cruiserweight stars and tag-team wrestling. With the X-Division Championship in place, I made a concerted effort to take a lot of high flyers in order to differentiate myself. The same is true of my commitment to the tag division with Kings of Wrestling and World's Greatest Tag Team.

The one question with this roster is whether the world-class wrestling will be enough to make up for a lack of established stars. There are tons of guys in place who most fans wish would be pushed in real life, though, so it should be a crowd pleaser.

Check back for more on World Wrestling Entertainment as it comes, and visit Bleacher Report’s Wrestling Page to get your fill of WWE/TNA. For more Wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics you just can’t miss (some language NSFW).

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